Stephanie Vasquez got the idea for a western-themed carnival at T.J. Maxx. The IU senior and program manager intern for the Indiana Memorial Union noticed that many items sported country motifs, and a light bulb went off.
“So, I figured, okay, this is something that's trending this year,” Vasquez said. “It's going to be really big. So, I emailed Hayley asking, ‘if this is what T.J. Maxx and all the stores have going on, then can we bring that to Carnival? It's obviously trending. It's something that the people want. So can we give that to the people?’ And she loved the idea.”
The third annual Late Nite Cream & Crimson Carnival will take place from 6 p.m. to midnight Friday, April 11 in the Fine Arts Plaza.
The Cream and Crimson Carnival will feature rides, games, food and music, many with a western theme.
IMU program coordinator Hayley Griffith said there will be caricature artists, stilt walkers and jugglers. The headlining artists are Kelly & Sarah, twin sisters and country singers based in Nashville, Tennessee.
Vasquez, who said she was given a lot of creative freedom for the event, chose the musicians.
“I honestly did a lot of research looking into up-and-coming country singers that have that live, fun vibe, and I ended up coming across them,” Vasquez said. “I think their first song that I listened to was “Well Whiskey” which is an original by them. And after that I thought, we have to book them. They are amazing.”
Vasquez said she helped with the first Cream & Crimson Carnival in 2023 as a member of Union Board, but this time she’s been fully involved in the planning.
“I was vaguely familiar with it by volunteering for the first year that it happened, but this time it was kind of just cool being able to be in the background and seeing it all come to life versus just volunteering one day and trying to help where they needed extra hands,” Vasquez said.
Griffith said it was exciting to have a theme for this year’s carnival. While this is only the third such event at IU, it’s not Griffith’s first rodeo. Before coming to IU, she was the assistant director for programs at Ball State University.
“I've done carnivals at previous institutions,” Griffith said. “So, they're kind of like my baby. Now that I work at IU, it'll be two years this May, I want here to be the number one place for collegiate carnivals.”
As for the rides, Griffith said she thought the main attraction would be The Fireball, a roller coaster that will be in front of the IU Auditorium. Poor Jack Amusements, the company supplying the rides, describes The Fireball on their website as a 60-foot circular roller coaster that takes riders upside down.
“It might be even taller than the auditorium,” Griffith said. “It's going to be massive. And it's really fun because, you know, I'm used to seeing the size of these rides. But in previous years, you know, we used a little bit of a smaller rides. So, I really don't think people understand how big these really are.”
While the process of hosting a carnival can be challenging, Griffith said the result is worth it.
“Even though it's a lot of long and hard hours to pull this off, you know, it's worth it to see everyone get so excited and to be able to, like, make memories with their friends, and it's ultimately just to bring Hoosiers all together.”
